(Part 1)
JBTM_13-2_Fall_2016
JBTM_13-2_Fall_2016
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JBTM Book Reviews<br />
136<br />
Thornhill’s work deserves consideration by pastors, Bible students, and anyone interested<br />
in the current debate on election. His copious content footnotes provide the reader with<br />
ready access to the theological contenders of all views on election. His method of using the<br />
primary literature as reference for the doctrinal study of election is commendable. Regardless<br />
of the reader’s theological persuasion on election, Thornhill’s work is highly recommended<br />
for this subject.<br />
- Craig Price, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, New Orleans, Louisiana<br />
Christian Bioethics: A Guide for Pastors, Health Care Professionals, and Families. By C.<br />
Ben Mitchell and D. Joy Riley. Nashville: B&H Academic, 2014. 207 pages. Paperback,<br />
$24.99.<br />
C. Ben Mitchell holds a PhD in philosophy with a concentration in medical ethics from<br />
the University of Tennessee. Currently, he is the provost and chief academic officer at Union<br />
University in Jackson, Tennessee. D. Joy Riley is board-certified in internal medicine, and<br />
earned a master’s in bioethics from Trinity International University. She currently serves as<br />
the director of the Tennessee Center for Bioethics and Culture.<br />
Christian Bioethics is a recent volume in the B&H Studies in Biblical Ethics series which<br />
“aims to promote understanding and respect for the reality and relevance of God’s moral<br />
truth—what Francis Schaeffer called ‘true truth’—in contrast to truth claims that are false or<br />
distorted” (xi). The book executes this task very well for its intended audience.<br />
The book stands out due to three unique features. The first is the background of the<br />
co-authors. Specifically, the two co-authors represent two different fields of study, both of<br />
which have direct and decisive bearing on the topic. Mitchell’s training as a philosopher and<br />
ethicist provides insight into the logic and linguistic arguments and nuances, while Riley’s<br />
training in bioethics combined with her MD gives her a distinct vantage to explain crucial<br />
elements that are not always covered in such books (which are often written by ethicists who<br />
do not practice medicine). The second feature is the nature of the authors’ interaction with<br />
each other. After setting up the topic for each chapter, the authors engage in an extended<br />
dialogue, with each weighing in from his or her field of expertise. At times this clarifies an<br />
issue, and at other times it amplifies a point. In each dialogue, both scholars enrich and<br />
enlighten the other’s comments, complementing what the other has contributed. Third, each<br />
chapter begins with a case study. The case-study approach is not unique to works on ethics,<br />
but the authors embrace the model fully, following the case study to the end. Indeed, the case<br />
studies are not mere illustrations used by the authors as a prop to set aside and then explore<br />
other issues or merely to make a tangential point. Rather, the case studies are integral to the<br />
chapters and to the overall aim of each section.